Preparing the business plan is the essential first step to your new business. It should be: concise, emotional, logical, factual, and realistic. The plan you write needs to be so relevant and useful that it becomes part of your business management. Here are ten things every business plan should contain:
Vision – What makes this business opportunity so exciting to you, your potential customers, suppliers, and investors? Keep your mind focused on the end goal.
Background – What has happened in the world for you to think this venture is the right thing to do right now? Relate to it.
Goals – Success will look like this: turnover, profit, customer numbers.
People – Who is in your team and how do they add value to their job?
Products – What are you going to sell and how will your products/services evolve to changes in the market and adapt to feedback?
Competition – How will you be different from others? Discover how you’ll stand out from the crowd. The differences are crucially important.
Marketing – How will you purvey the benefits of what you offer to your target market?
Funding – How will it all be paid for? Are you relying on investors? How much do you need of them and what can they expect in return?
Measurement – Measure your performance. Figure out and kinks and issues and the best way to resolve them.
Jumping Ship – Never plan for failure, but keep an exit strategy just in case. Also, keep in mind the end of your business's life cycle, what will you do with it then?